Good Dishes

Growing up, in a love-strong but financially-fragile family, my mother had "good dishes." My three sisters and I rotated the responsibility of washing dishes after each meal. During one of my times to do the dishes, my mother witnessed me carelessly carrying an armful of dishes from the table to the sink; she banned me from washing the good dishes. "Thank you Jesus!"

Later, my mother realized that what she had hoped would have been belittlement, was to me a blessing. The result was a revised rule. Now I was diabolically kicked back into the dish washing queue with the wanton warning: there will be no mercy shown for dropping any dish because the load I was carrying was heavy.

Sometimes, when I am frustrated over the fact that Congress can't seem to get big things done, I can hear my mother saying, "There is no excuse for dropping things just because they are heavy." And these days, things seem extraordinarily heavy. But with my mother's voice in my ear, I brush off the frustration, knowing those we serve deserve our best regardless of the weight of the challenge.

After all, heavy lifting and great accomplishments usually come hand in hand.